Holder for paper towels and the like



g- 13, 1929- J. c. SHERMAN 1,724,428

HOLDER FOR PAPER TOWELS AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 1925 Patented Aug. 13, 1929.

UNITE stares TENT FFIOE.

JOHN C. SHERMAN, OF GORHAM, MAINE, ASSIGNOR TO BROWN COMPANY, OF BERLIN,

NEW HAMPSHIRE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

HOLDER FOR PAPER 'I'OWELS AND THE LIKE.

Application filed September 9, 1925.

This invention relates to a holder adapted to be fastened to a wall, or other suitable supporting surface or structure, and to hold a package or collection of folded and interleaved sheets of paper, or similar sheets, in condition to be withdrawn one at a time as needed for use. It is particularly designed and intended for holding paper towels in lavatories, wherefore in the following explanation of the characteristics of the invention I shall describe such characteristics with reference to that particular use and adaptation; making it understood, however, that the utility of the invention and the protection which I claim for it are not limited to such use, but extend to all analogous and equivalent uses. For the purposes of this specification the paper towels herein described typify any sheets of paper, or similar sheets, which may be folded and stacked upon one another with folds of adjacent sheets interleaved with one another.

It is the object of this invention to provide a wire holder for the purpose indicated, which can be made from a single piece of wire, and has means for adequately supporting and confining a carton containing a collection or package of such folded or interleaved paper towels, or the like,-so that the carton is securely located in place, while the walls of the carton continue to serve their original purpose of confining the towels in a stack and protecting them from being soiled, and has also an opening, as long as the width of the sheets, through which such sheets may be withdrawn, said opening being bounded by supporting members properly positioned and adequately strong to support or hold back the package or assemblage of sheets when the endmost sheet is pulled out. A part of my object is to furnish at minimum cost a holder having means for securely holding such a package while permitting removal of single sheets. These objects are realized in the holder which I shall now describe with reference to the drawings, such holder being the pre Serial No. 55,264.

ferred embodiment of the invention and illustrating the principles thereof.

In the drawings: 7

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the holder referred to showing by dotted lines the position of a carton therein;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the holder and a carton (shown by dotted lines) containing a stack of folded towels in operative association with the holder; v i

Fig. 3 is a cross section of the holder and towel package in operative association.

Like reference characters designate the same parts in all the Figures.

The holder is made of wire appropriately bent to form two end pieces 1 and 2, two side pieces at each end, designated 3, 4 and 5, 6, respectively, inwardly bent transverse bot tom members 7, 8, and 9, 10, at the opposite ends, and longitudinal slot-defining members 11 and 12. The members which I have called the bottom members are preferably inclined downwardly and toward the center from the lower ends of the side members. These bottom members and the slot-defining members 11 and 12 constitute the bottom of the holder. The members 7 11 and 9, as also the members 8, 12 and 10, therefore define,

and lie in, inclined planes. Preferably the members 7 and 8 are in the same plane perpendicular to the members 11 and 12, although they need not be, and the same is true as to the members 9 and 10. The end members l and 2 are farther apart from one another than the bottom members 7 and 9 or 8 and 10, and the side members 3, 4 and 5, 6 at each end are inclined, bowed, or offset toward the opposite end. The members 4 and 6 are additionally offset at 13 and 14 to form eyes through which screws or other fastening means may be passed to attach the holder upon a wall or other support. Instead of forming eyes at the particular locations shown, equivalent eyes or offsets may be formed in other locations; or the eyes may be omitted altogether and the holder be attached to a supporting surface by staples embracing the side members, or hung from an overhead support by suspenders engag ing the end members.

The wire of which the holder is made is bentat the appropriate points and in the appropriate directions to bring it to final form substantially as herein shown and described. \Vhen thus bent the ends of the wire meet and are preferably joined by electric welding. The location of such a joint is indicated at 15. The joint may however be located at any other desired point. It is not essential that the abut-tingor overlap ping ends of the wire be joined together, although preferable on account of the greater strength and stiffness thereby secured. But when the ends are so joined the Wire becomes endless, in effect, and my claim to protection includes a holder formed from a single endless piece of wire. It is obvious, however, that any of the several members hereinbefore described, or groups of such members, may be formed of originally separate Wires and joined to the contiguous members by welding or otherwise. Iron or mild steel wire is most suitable as the material for making this holder, as such material is adequately stiff. However I do not limit my protection to iron or steel rather than some other material. The term wire as herein used is not to be construed in the narrowest sense, but in a scope to include structural material like wire in the sense of being elongated, with small transverse dimensions and area in proportion to length. and having the capability of being bent and extended in the manner and relative directions herein indicated.

A carton 16 containing a collection. of folded towels may be readily placed in the holder, with its ends occupying the spaces defined by the end and side members 1, 3, 4, and 2, 5, 6, respectively. The pile of towels is then supported by the transverse bottom members at or near the junctions of the lat ter with the rising side members. Customarily the cartons containing such. folded towels and the like are provided with flaps closing one side, which may be more or less opened out to permit egress of the towels. The carton is placed in the holder with the side equipped with such flaps lowermost, whereby the flaps are supported by the bottom members of the holder and are interposed between such members and the pile of towels. The end of the lowermost towel is passed through the registering slots between the edges of the carton flaps and the slot defining members 11 and 12. Then, by pulling on such projecting end, the bottom towel may be Withdrawn and the end of the next towel pulled out at the same time ready to be grasped when needed for use.

The holder as thus constructed is marketable at minimum cost. It is adapted to re ceive original packages of paper towels and the like, and in itself has much strength and stiffness, and so adequately supports the package, that the wrapper of the package need have no substantial strengti or stiffness and need only be of such a character will protect the towels from contamination and prevent their lateral displacement. It may be noted, however, that the holder alone is not adequate to confine and retain a complete commercial package or pile of towels, but requires the cooperation of the carton for that purpose. This is made plain by the drawings, in which the towel package is shown as extending above the upper side and end members of the holder. With out the confining walls of the carton, the uppermost towels of the pile would have no restraint against displacement sidewise, and the whole pile would be unrestrained against displacement endwise out of the holder between the side and end members at either end, after its height'has been diminished by withdrawal of towels from the bot tom. Nevertheless an adequate restraint of the towels is afforded by the connected walls of the carton, even though the carton be made of material having only slight stiifness and strength.

By reference to Fig. 3, it is obvious that the carton 16 is embraced and confined by the side members 3, 4e and 5, 6. Preferably these side members are so spaced and arranged as to grasp the carton with some firmness at or near the bottom only, leaving the upper part of the carton free from. lateral pressure. This insures that the weight of the pile of towels shall be substantially borne at the junctions between the members 5 and 7, i and ,8, 5 and 9, and 6 and 10; and that the middle and upper portions of the pile will notbe so confined as to impede their downward movement. To accomplish this result, 1 preferably arrange the parts 3 and 5 on the one side and at and 6 on the other with a slightly converging downward inclination toward one another, although the inclination is of a very small order. However, the holder functions without such con- ."ergence provided enough space between the front and rear side members is provided originally maintained when the holder is put to use. But the initial provision of such inc nation or taper offsets the liability of distortion in handling or shipment such as would cause the holder to bind the upper part of the carton. It is particularly important that the upper part of the carton and pile of towels be free from gripping pressure by the side members of the holder in order that the pile will readily descend as the bottom towels are successively withdrawn.

It will alsobe noted in Fig. 3 that the flaps of the carton do not extend as far from the sides as the locations of the slot definmg members 11 and 12. This short termination of the flaps leaves the round wire members 11 and 12 as the smooth and rela tively frictionless bearings over which the towels slide when pulled out for use. Inasmuch as the use to'which such towels is put necessarily involves their being grasped by Wet fingers, it is highly important that the resistance to their withdrawal be the minimum. One factor conducing to this end is the arrangement and relationship of the slot defining members above pointed out. Another is the downward inclination of the transverse bottom members which limits the contact area of the towel pile and the support therefor practically to the edges only of the lowermost towel.

In the foregoing description and in certain of the appended claims the members of the holder and their relation to the horizontal and vertical are defined with refer ence to the manner in which such relations are shown in the drawing. Although this is the preferred and usual position of placement of the holder, the said definitions are not to be construed as limiting my protection to a holder so placed, or as excluding holders otherwise substantially equivalent to that here shown, but differently positioned. That is for instance, my protection includes such holders if inclined or overturned from the position shown in the drawing.

\Vhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A holder for the purpose set forth made of skeleton construction and having slender members arranged to embrace the ends and a side of a package of the character set forth, and other slender members arranged to extend under and support such package, said last named member including slot-defining members arranged with a space between them through which the pieces in such package may be drawn.

2. A holder for the purpose set forth made of a single piece of wire and bent to form separated end members, side members extending from the ends of each end member downwardly and with an offset toward the opposite end of the holder, bottom members extending on a downward inclination toward one another from the lower ends of the side members at each end of the holder, and slot-defining members extending longitudinally between the ends of cor responding bottom members at each end of the holder.

3. A holder for the purposes set forth, comprising substantially parallel slot-defining members, outwardly directed bottom members leading from the ends of said slotdefining members, side members leading upward from the outer ends of said bottom members, and each inclined away from the comprising substantially parallel slot-defining members, outwardly directed bottom member leading from the ends of said slot- ;defining members, side members leading upward from the outer ends of said bottom members, and each inclined away from the opposite end of the holder, and end. members at each end of the holder crossing between the adjacent side members; all the aforesaid members being made of a single integral piece of wire.

5. A holder for a rectangular pile of paper towels folded in zigzag folds and arranged with the uppermost fold of each towel interleaved with the bottom fold of the towel next above it, said holder being of skeleton construction with slender longitudinal bottom members separated by a distance less than the width of the folded towels and arranged to provide an open slot through which the towels may pass edgewise, said holder having also transverse bottom members projecting outwardly from each of said longitudinal members and side members rising from the outer ends of said transverse members, and being otherwise constructed with means for attachment to a support, and with members adapted to cooperate with such a support in confining the assemblage of towels against lateral dislodgement.

6. A holding means for a pile of folded and interleaved paper towels or the like consisting of the combination of a skeleton frame and a carton or wrapper enclosing the towels, said frame having end members embracing the ends of the carton, side members embracing the sides of the carton adjacent to both ends thereof, downwardly inclined transverse bottom members extending from the opposite side members beneath the carton toward the middle, and separate slot defining members extending approximately parallel to one another, longitudinally of the device and joined at their end to the inner ends of'the said bottom members; the said end and embracing side members of the frame cooperating with the end and side walls of the carton to retain the towels in place.

7. A holding means for a pile of folded and interleaved paper towels or the like consisting of the combination of a skeleton frame and a carton or wrapper enclosing the towels, said frame having end members embracing the ends of the carton, side members embracing the sides of the carton adjacent to both ends thereof, downwardly inclined transverse bottom members extending from the opposite side members beneath the carton toward the middle, and separate slot defining members extending approximately parallel to one another, longitudinally of the device and joined at their ends to the inner ends of the said bottom members, said end and side members cooperating with the walls of the carton to retain the towels, etc. in place, and the carton having flaps at the bottom which rest on said bottom members and terminate short of the slot defining members, supporting the outer parts of 10 tom of the pile.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

JOHN C. SHERMAN. 

